Camden, Maine
by Some1FoundMe
Summary: Follow-up to "Not Another Mistake". Oliver and Felicity take their much needed and well deserved vacation. Olicity fluff.
1. Day One

**Title: Camden, Maine**

**Author: Some1FoundMe**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: Of course, I own nothing or season 2 would've been a whole different ball game.**

**Summary: Follow-up to "Not Another Mistake". Oliver and Felicity take their much needed and well deserved vacation.**

**A/N:** **I hadn't expected this one to come so easily but it did and I guess that's a good thing. These five chapters each represent one day of Oliver and Felicity's vacation, set after the season 2 finale. If you haven't read my fic "Not Another Mistake" this one is going to throw you off a little. This is the follow-up I promised after finishing that piece. Also, I waited until all five chapters were finished so you are getting the complete story at once. Thanks in advance for reading and I hope it doesn't disappoint!**

**Day One**

He felt her before he saw her so when she appeared beside him on the porch, he wasn't surprised. He transferred his gaze from the rolling waves of the northern Atlantic to his partner. Her hair was disheveled, her glasses slightly off kilter, and he couldn't help noticing that the sweater that she wore over her flowered pajama pants was the same one that he'd worn the day before. She was rumpled and sleepy and possibly the sexiest thing that he'd ever seen.

When she started to fall into the chair beside him, he stopped her and directed her to his lap. He needed to hold her.

"This place is beautiful. Why here?" he asked, indicating her choice of Camden, Maine for their vacation.

She shrugged, her head resting on his shoulder, her arms folded over his where he held her to his chest.

"I've always loved it here. Camden. Boston. Portsmouth. The east coast in general."

He knew that she'd gone to MIT, that she'd obviously lived back east, but she seldom talked about that time in her life. She very rarely discussed her past, almost as rarely as he discussed his. He realized that the night before when they'd driven up from the airport in Portland that she hadn't used a map or GPS to get them to Camden. She'd directed him from memory.

"And the cabin? How'd you find it?" he inquired.

Cool, briny ocean air rushed past them, tangling her hair further, and she burrowed into him.

"The summer before my last year of college, I decided that I was going to take a break and explore. Going home had never been an option. My mom and I … I just couldn't stand the thought of spending my summers in Vegas. Normally I'd register for summer courses and stay on campus. But by that point, I'd lived in Boston for three years and I'd never ventured too far from school so I made it my goal to find a new city every couple of days. I traveled all over for three months."

He couldn't deny that he was impressed. He was well aware of the fact that the beautiful woman in his arms was a bit of a free spirit. He was familiar with how open and willing she was. She'd always been up to any challenge that he had presented her with but the fact that she had spent three months traveling unfamiliar territory all on her own was surprising.

"I ended up here towards the end of July. I was staying at a B&B in town. It was beautiful and so quiet and I fell in love with the ocean. The second or third day that I was here, I wandered into this used bookstore. That's when I met Mae Rose," she explained, her voice trailing off.

He tightened his arms around her when she didn't continue and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"She was the owner. She was eighty-four and one of the kindest people that I'd ever met. She talked my ear off the first time I met her. I mean, you guys think I talk a lot, you should've met Mae Rose. When I left the bookstore that afternoon, I was sure I'd heard her whole life story. I'd convinced myself not to go back because, good lord, I'd been there for close to three hours!"

She laughed and the sound made him smile. She turned her face further into his shoulder, her nose skimming the exposed skin of his throat and he felt her warm breath there.

"When I went back to the bed and breakfast that evening for dinner, I started a conversation with the owner's daughter. She asked me how I'd spent my day and I ended up telling her about my run-in with Mae Rose. Kate, the owners' daughter, just smiled and sat down with me. She told me that Mae Rose was a widow, that her husband had died in 1944 during the war. They had a son, just the one, but he was killed in Vietnam. Apparently she had no other family. Of course, I felt awful that I'd been so eager to leave. I went back the next day and every day after. I ended up staying here for the last three weeks of my vacation. It was easily the best summer that I've ever had."

He wanted to know more. He wanted to hear more about Mae Rose and the summer that Felicity had spent with her. He wanted to know who this woman was that Felicity clearly loved. But he sensed that his curiosity would have to wait.

"What do you want to do today?" he murmured.

She shrugged, "We can do whatever you want. There used to be a cute little coffee shop in town. And there are quite a few shops. It's mostly knickknacks and souvenirs but they're charming."

"What about the bookstore? Is it still here?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I'd – I'd like to find out. Will you go with me?" she asked softly.

He pressed his lips to her hair, "Of course."

Neither of them made a move to leave the comfort of their chair. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so rested and calm. He hadn't worried about Roy or Laurel or John since stepping foot on the plane the morning before and he hoped that he would feel the same way for the rest of the week that they were there. There was nothing to distract him from her, nothing to take his attention away from loving her.

"Does it remind you of the island? The ocean, I mean. Does it remind you of Lian Yu?"

It was his turn to shrug.

"In a way I'm sure it always will. But it's not really the island that I'm reminded of. It's the days before we drifted to the island. There's a lot of it that I can't remember. I don't even know how long we were out there before my dad…" he swallowed hard, unable to get past the lump in his throat.

"He was alive?"

The fact that she didn't sound surprised should've worried him but he was beginning to realize that nothing he said to her really shocked her.

"He and one of the crew members survived when the Gambit capsized. We drifted for days. We had no food and very little water. My dad he – he had his book. The list. He gave it to me before he shot the crew member and then himself. He wanted me to survive."

They drifted into silence again and he understood that what he'd told her would be a lot to take it, that whether she showed it or not, his words had disturbed her. The only person he had told about his father had been his mother. He'd been ashamed that he hadn't done enough to save him. He had spent years running through a thousand different scenarios in which he could've stopped his father from committing suicide. But too many years had passed for him to believe that he could've prevented his father's death. He had come to terms with the fact that his father had done what he'd believed what was necessary in order for him to live. And he had lived, he had survived, to prove that his father's sacrifice had been worth it.

"We should probably shower," she suggested, jerking away from him slightly the moment she realized how her words had come out, "And by _we_I mean both of us. But not together. I mean, we both need showers. Separate showers. Why don't you ever stop me when I do that?"

He laughed, tugging her back until she fell into his chest.

"Because it's adorable," he told her, "And we can do it your way, if you want, but I'm telling you right now, I have every intention of showering _with_ you before this week is over."

She shivered and he knew without looking at her that her face was flushed. They hadn't talked about it yet, hadn't addressed the fact that almost three months into their relationship and he hadn't made love to her. And it wasn't because he didn't want to. It was because if he did, he would never want to stop. But that would change before the week was out. He wouldn't be able to hold out for five days, spending every night with her asleep in his arms. She didn't know it yet, but he had every intention of showing her just how much he loved her beginning that night and he would continue to show her every night thereafter.


	2. Day Two

**Day Two**

She woke to the scrape of stubble across the swell of her breasts, warm lips trailing over her sensitive skin, and she sighed. She gripped the sheets in her hands, the soft fabric anchoring her to the bed as Oliver moved down the length of her body.

Blinking up at the ceiling, she allowed herself to drown in the sensation that he could elicit with just his mouth. Her mind drifted to the night before, to the first time that he'd made love to her, and she shivered as the memory of his body moving over hers collided with the currants of pleasure that he was providing now. When his mouth closed over her nipple, she gasped and withered beneath him. His heavy frame rested on top of her, his shoulders and chest pressed to her naked torso. His rigid abdomen rested between her parted thighs. She bent her legs and cradled his hips with her knees.

"Good morning," he mumbled, his voice muffled against her flesh.

She whimpered when he bit gently at the bud in his mouth, heat flooding her core. She wanted to feel him inside of her again, filling her, stretching her. It didn't matter in that moment that a pleasant ache had settled between her legs or that her muscles would be sore for days. Their first night together had been amazing and perfect even if it had been a little awkward. Because – in true Felicity Smoak fashion – she had rambled inappropriately about his size and he hadn't bothered to shut her up. She had had to count backwards from ten in order to stop herself and by the time she'd managed to get her mouth under control, they'd both been laughing. He'd promptly cut off her giggling by thrusting into her for the first time. She would've been lying if she'd denied fantasizing about sex with Oliver. She had had one too many inappropriate daydreams about it but her daydreams hadn't come close to the real thing.

He shifted until he was hovering over her, his weight balanced on his forearms where they were planted on either side of her head.

He kissed her, his lips brushing over her cheeks and nose and chin before he pecked at her lips.

"Good morning," he repeated.

"Hmm, morning."

"What would you like to do today?" he questioned, his lips finding the sensitive skin just below her ear.

"I vote for this," she mumbled, "Just this. There's no reason for us to leave."

She felt him smile against the column of her throat.

"We should go for a walk," he suggested, "We've got all of this uninterrupted shoreline to explore. And we do have to eat at some point today."

She shook her head, "We've got all week to explore and I'm not hungry."

He pulled away, grinning down at her. Pressing a quick kiss to her lips, he rolled off of her and stood. She scrambled to sit up.

"Are you kidding?" she squeaked, "Where are you going?"

She pushed the hair from her face and watched as he backed his way out of the room. She wouldn't admit it out loud but she was a little disappointed that he'd put his boxers back on sometime during the night.

"To take a shower. You're welcome to join me."

Goose bumps broke out across her body as he disappeared into the hall. For a moment, she lay in the bed and stared at the spot where he'd vanished. She wanted to follow him. She had no reason not to. He'd commented the morning before that he wanted to shower with her and the images that that confession had conjured up in her brain had been incredibly provocative. Besides, the man had definitely seen her naked. He had taken his time stripping her of every last article of clothing the night before. He'd run his hands all over her, had kissed every inch of her skin that he'd uncovered. So why the thought of stepping into the shower with him had her hands shaking, she didn't know.

She climbed out of the bed and darted down the hallway to the bathroom before she could talk herself out of it. She found the door open and when she stepped into the room, steam billowed from behind the curtain. She took a deep breath and stepped in behind him.

"For a second I thought maybe you weren't coming," he admitted, holding his arms open in invitation.

She stepped forward and pressed her front to his. He held her.

"You okay?"

She nodded against his chest, "Fine."

"Good. Turn around so that I can wash your hair."

She complied, presenting him with her back and stood quietly as he tipped her head back under the spray of the shower.

"You never did answer my question yesterday," he told her, "About this cabin. How did you find it?"

She raked over the conversation that they'd had on the porch. He had asked and she'd started at the very beginning with her answer. She'd told him about that summer and how she had met Mae Rose but she hadn't actually finished her explanation.

"A few days after I met Mae Rose, she invited me to stay with her in her home while I was visiting. I know that she was just trying to help me save money when she realized that I didn't have any intention of leaving but she always said that I was doing her a favor by staying with her. She didn't like living alone anymore and she said that she enjoyed my company. So I checked out of the B&B and moved my stuff into Mae's guest room. After everything that I've experienced in the last year, I realize that it probably wasn't really that smart trusting someone that I'd just met but she was just… Mae Rose reminded me of my bubbe who'd died before my tenth birthday. Obviously I wasn't close to my mother so it was nice to feel like someone really cared about me. Mae Rose made me feel like I was her family."

He continued to massage shampoo into her scalp, his fingers digging in with just the right amount of pressure.

"That year for Hanukkah she sent me a copy of _The Secret Garden_. It was inscribed with a message. She told me that Camden was my home and that I was more than welcome whenever I needed to see my family."

He paused, "You never made it back."

She shook her head and felt a feel stray tears slide down her cheeks.

"She died. In early February. I never got to see her again," she explained.

"And this was her home."

She nodded, taking a slow breath to stem the rest of the tears that threatened to fall. He rinsed the suds from her hair before applying a small amount of conditioner to her locks, combing his fingers through to work out the knots. As the conditioner did its job, he grabbed a loofa and added her pomegranate body wash to it. He worked it across her shoulders before turning her and lathering across her chest and arms and belly. She met his gaze, her face flushed as he dropped to his knees before her and worked the soap in her legs and across her hips. He had sufficiently distracted her from her sadness and reminded her why she hadn't wanted to leave the comfort of their bed. By the time he was on his feet again, her entire body was trembling.

She reached for him, threading her arms around his neck and drawing his mouth down to hers. Their kisses the previous night had been languid and sweet, their lovemaking fulfilling and unhurried. He had taken his time learning every part of her body and all of the ways to make her moan his name.

But this – this was different. Her mouth moved desperately, their lips slanting, their tongues dueling. His hands slipped hurriedly over her skin, sliding down her back until he was gripping her thighs. He lifted her easily and she locked her legs around his hips. Turning, he pressed her into the wall, the coo tile drawing a gasp from her that quickly turned into a moan as he sunk his length into her core.

"Oliver… oh god."

She wouldn't be able to hold off, not like this, not with his purposeful strokes filling her as he thrust higher and deeper. Her back slid against the slick tile. He kissed his way down her jaw to her neck, along her shoulder. When his teeth sunk into her flesh, the sharp pain jolted her and she cried out, pleasure erupting from her center and splintering outward. Her head thumped back against the wall, her entire body weightless as she clung to him. He continued to move inside of her, his pace and angle changing slightly as he chased his own release. She held him, one hand threaded through the hair at the back of his head while the other clutched at his shoulder, her nails digging into his flesh. He sucked at the bite he'd made, his tongue lapping to soothe the ache and she felt the beginnings of fire spark to life inside of her. And then he tensed, his back and neck rigid as pleasure raced through him, growling her name against her shoulder. She pressed her lips to his forehead and tightened her hold on his hips.

"I'm sorry."

She blanched at his words and tugged at the hair she still grasped. He lifted his head.

"Oliver?"

He ran his hand down her cheek, his fingers brushing aside the strands of her clinging to her damp skin.

"I'm sorry that you weren't able to come back and see Mae Rose again," he told her gently, "I'm sorry that you ever felt like you didn't have a family. Like you were alone."

She shook her head, giving him a weak smile as relief settled in her bones.

"I know that I wasn't alone, Oliver, and I very rarely ever felt that way. I had roommates in college, friends, people who I knew cared about me to some extent. But it wasn't quite the same. Mae Rose made me remember what it was like to have a family. Honestly, there were times that I thought she didn't recognize me, like she really thought I was her granddaughter even though she didn't actually have one."

He kissed her again, slowly, and she untangled her legs from around him.

"We should finish up here and head out," she urged.

She ducked under the spray again to rinse her hair and he grinned at her.

"Weren't you the one who didn't want to leave?"

"I don't _want to _but if you're going to keep pouncing on me like that, I've got to get something to eat. I'll never be able to keep up."

Oliver laughed, hauling her back into his body, "I'm pretty sure you're the one who pounced on me, Miss Smoak, but if its food that you need, I guess we can go."

She kissed him again and barely dodged his attempt to grab her as she scrambled out of the shower. She wrapped herself up in a towel, leaving him to finish his shower alone, her heart pounding in her chest. Happier than she had been in a very, very long time.


	3. Day Three

**Day Three**

"You're cheating," she huffed, dropping her cards into the middle of the board.

He fought to keep the smirk off of his face at her indignation and collected the game pieces. As he re-packed the box, she went to the kitchen for more wine.

The rain that had woken them that morning continued to fall, a rumble of thunder rolling through every so often, lightning flashing in the distance over the dark ocean. They'd dragged their feet getting out of bed, choosing to spend the morning enjoying each other's bodies rather than trudging through the damp spring day that they'd been blessed with. It hadn't been until her stomach had grumbled loudly in the otherwise silent room that they'd decided to venture out.

She resumed her seat across from him at the small table as he set up the Monopoly board. She eyed the game skeptically.

"You aren't going to cheat are you?" she asked.

He chuckled, "I don't know if it's really possible to cheat at Monopoly."

She rolled her eyes and selected the thimble as her token.

"I didn't think it was possible to cheat at Clue but somehow you did."

He shook his head but he didn't contradict her. He hadn't been cheating. He didn't need to. What he hadn't told her was that, when he was young, Clue had been his favorite game and Raisa would play with him nearly every night before bed. And it had always been Raisa. He couldn't remember a time when he'd ever played with anyone else.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He met her gaze, realizing that he'd been distracted by memories of his childhood, of a time in his life that simply didn't seem real. He had had everything that money could buy when he was young. Every game, every a dog. What he had been lacking were attentive parents. His mother had been the trophy on his father's arm, the socialite that everyone had assumed her to be. He knew that she loved him. He remembered that she had, at times, made an effort, but he had more memories of Raisa taking care of him and Thea than either of his parents.

"When I was a kid, Raisa would play with me," he recalled, "Clue. She would play with me all the time. I'm pretty sure she let me win at first but after a while, I got really good at it."

"Oh."

He selected one of the traditional tokens from the box and she smirked at his choice.

"The dog?"

He shrugged, "I like dogs."

She just grinned and rolled the dice. He was thankful that they'd spent the day relaxing and being lazy. Once they'd made it out of the cabin they had found a quiet café where they'd had breakfast before she'd taken him by the hand and led him to the collections of shops that lined the main road. They hadn't done much shopping the previous afternoons that they'd been in Camden. Instead, they'd gone for a long walk along the shore that Felicity had filled with her never ending ramble. He had commented when prompted but more than that, he'd been happy that she had decided to open up. He had been glad to learn more about the woman that he had fallen in love with.

"I had a dog once," she told him, "A border collie. Her name was Yogurt."

He cocked his head as he considered the name.

"Yogurt?" he repeated.

She shrugged, "I was five."

He laughed and she smiled, her face flushing. He took his turn, grumbling when he had to pay her fifty dollars after landing on Reading Railroad. They both took another turn.

"So what happened to her?" he asked, "To Yogurt?"

She sighed, "When my dad left, my mom and I had to move into an apartment so we couldn't keep her. Fortunately, our neighbors agreed to take her. I was friends with their daughter, Liz, so I still got to see her after that. She was still with Liz's family when I left for college."

She rolled the dice again and groaned. He moved her token across the board and placed her in jail.

"I thought they didn't send blondes to Gitmo," she pouted.

He shook his head, "But you dye it so that doesn't count."

Her mouth popped open and she began to protest but nothing came out. Instead, she handed him the dice.

"Have you considered getting another dog?" he asked between rolls.

"Really? Now? I'm never home, Oliver. I'm lucky if I see my bed every night. I don't have time for a dog."

He considered her argument. It was true that, when they'd both been working at Queen Consolidated during the day and at the foundry at night, they were very rarely apart. She spent most nights at her computers until well into the next morning, hurrying home to catch a couple of hours of sleep before starting all over again.

He shrugged, "It isn't going to be the same when we get back. You aren't my EA anymore. And besides, the new location is the basement of yet another empty building. It wouldn't hurt anything to have a dog down there."

She held the dice in her hand, ready to take her turn, but she was staring at him with clear confusion. He didn't know why he'd suggested it. Maybe because he'd seen the way that her face had lit up when she'd talked about Yogurt. Maybe because he wanted to see that look on her face again.

"It's just a suggestion, Felicity," he said softly, "Are you going to roll?"

She tossed the dice on the board and moved her token. Before he could take his turn, she reached out to him.

"Is this going to change, too?" she murmured, "All of this. Me and you. So much has changed already and I don't – I don't want to lose you when we go home."

He watched the worry that settled in her expression, watched the way it pulled the smile from her lips. They'd had three near perfect days together. Three days where neither of their lives had been threatened. Three days with no interruptions. He knew that it wouldn't be that easy when they went home to Starling City. It wouldn't be just the two of them from the moment they stepped off of the plane. But he had no intention of letting her go or pushing her away. He would work to keep her, to make her feel like she was a part of his life because no matter what happened or who tried to tear them apart, he needed her by his side.

"You're not going to lose me," he assured her.

After a moment, she nodded and released his hand. He didn't roll the dice.

"I mean it, Felicity, when we go home, we'll still be us."

She took an unsteady breath and blew it out.

"Sorry, I don't know where that came from. Sometimes I just think... I don't know. I keep thinking that someone is going to try to take you away. Which would suck, honestly, because I just got you and I don't want to go back to the way things were, you know?"

He gave her a reassuring smile, "No one is going to take me away. And honestly, I don't know that I could go back now even if I wanted to."

She leaned across the table and he met her in the middle, pressing his lips to hers.

"I love you, Oliver."

"I love you, too. Now quit stalling. We've got a game to finish."


	4. Day Four

**Day Four**

She woke to a darkened room, the thunder from the storm raging outside so loud that it rattled the windows above the bed. She rolled toward Oliver, seeking the warmth that radiated from his large body, only to find his side of the bed empty. Sitting up quickly, she reached for her glasses on the end table and slid from beneath the covers, her feet hitting the jarringly cold hardwood floor.

She stumbled from the room, heading for the living room. She knew that he had trouble sleeping, that nightmares still plagued him every now and then, but he hadn't had one since they'd started spending their nights together. At least, if he had, none of them seemed to have been bad enough to drive him from their bed. She fell asleep in his arms and woke the same way every time. If he'd had a nightmare, it must've been bad.

"Oliver?" she called, stepping into the front room, her eyes finally adjusting to the darkness.

When he didn't respond, her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She cast a glance around the room, shivering, and caught sight of the backdoor standing wide open. The floor was soaked and she slid as she stumbled out onto the porch.

Lightening lit up the sky in the distance and for a moment she was captivated by the tumultuous waves crashing against the shore. Oliver was nowhere in sight.

"Oliver!"

She cleared the porch, her feet immediately sinking into the wet sand, as she ran towards the water.

"Oliver!" she cried again, her heart galloping, "Oliver!"

Tears stung her eyes as the wind whipped her hair across her face. A series of images flashed through her mind, each one more terrifying than the last as she tried to determine what she should do. If he'd had a nightmare, if he was having some kind of night terror, could that have driven him straight into the water? And if he was out there, could he survive?

"Oh god…" she gasped, her legs wanting desperately to give out on her.

"Felicity?"

She whirled around, heart in her throat, at the sound of his voice. He was jogging toward her, his bare chest dripping, hair sopping wet. She took in his running shorts and sneakers as he drew closer. She felt as if she was going to be sick.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked when he finally reached her, "Its pouring."

She stared at him incredulously. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and her open palm collided with his cheek. He froze, as did she, and they simply stood staring at one another as the storm raged on around them. Lightning cracked, closer this time, and she flinched. He reached for her, catching her just as she turned to run back to the cabin. Hauling her into his wet chest, she knew that she was breaking. Tears escaped and a sob broke past her lips. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head as his arms closed around her. Her body shook.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, "I'm sorry. I didn't think that you'd wake up. I'm sorry."

She shoved at him, her hands slipping against his slick skin, and stumbled back. She turned and stomped her way across the beach back to the cabin. She didn't look over her shoulder to confirm that he was following her, she didn't need to. He was smart enough to know that his apology wasn't going to cut it. He had scared her, terrified her really, and she was sure that her fear was evident on her face. She clambered through the door in record time, freezing and out of breath. Hair was plastered to her forehead, her soaked-through t-shirt clinging to her every curve and she whipped it over her head, the wet cotton hitting the floor with a hard slap.

The door clicked shut behind her, cutting off the sound of the violent wind that shook the tree limbs.

"You weren't there," she gasped, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to catch her breath, "I woke up and you weren't – I couldn't find you. You can do that to me, Oliver!"

She whirled on him, lashing out again, her fists connecting weakly with his chest. He made no move to stop her and she was thankful for that. He couldn't possibly understand how frightened she'd been. There were still things that she hadn't told him. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know but his ignorance of her past didn't excuse the fact that he'd vanished on her in the middle of the night.

"Felicity."

She heard him, heard the plea in his voice, but she couldn't stop the tears that leaked from her eyes.

"Felicity. Stop, please. You're going to hurt yourself."

She sagged against him, every muscle in her body weak and exhausted. The fact that she was standing, her damp skin exposed and covered in gooseflesh, in just her now soaked sleep shorts didn't register with her. What did was the fact that Oliver, whose body produced heat like a furnace, was shaking from the cold. Or, she wondered, was he frightened by her reaction?

"Shh," he murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm here."

He held her to his chest, lifting her from her feet and cradling her in his arms as he took them both down the hall to the bathroom. He set her on the sink, stepping away and turning on the faucet in the small bathtub. She sat in silence as she waited for him. She watched as he checked the temperature, running his fingers under the spout, before pushing down the stopper. He added a handful of lavender bath salts that sat on the back of the toilet. She knew that they'd belonged to Mae Rose, she certainly hadn't bought them, but she was glad that Oliver had realized that they were there. When there was a sufficient amount of water in the tub, he kicked off his sneakers and socks before stripping out of his wet running shorts. Standing naked before her, he guided her until she was on her feet, kneeling to peel her shorts and underwear from her body. He stepped into the tub, sinking down into the water and holding her hand until she stepped in in front of him. She settled between his legs which were bent slightly, his knees pressed against the tile on one side and the tub on the other. It wasn't an ideal sized bathroom for them to be bathing together but she wouldn't point that out. She wasn't going to argue. With her back to his chest, he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I didn't think you'd wake up," he began, "You sleep like the dead. You've never woken up before. "

She trailed her fingers through the water in front of her.

"I didn't realize that you were still having nightmares. At least I – I guess I didn't realize that they were so bad that they forced you out of bed. What are they about?"

She felt him shrug but he didn't answer. For a long time, silence filled the small space. The only sounds that she could hear came from the storm that continued to rage outside. Oliver's arms circled her shoulders, his forearms resting over her chest, and she set her chin on them.

"They're usually about you. About… about losing you. They've been less frequent the last couple of months but sometimes they still – they still work their way into my head and I can't shake them."

She was surprised by his honesty. He'd made an effort since their relationship had changed, since whatever was happening between them had shifted, to be more open with her but his nightmares were still his and had always been a point of contention.

She confessed, "When my dad left, he disappeared in the middle of the night. He'd put me in bed, kissed me goodnight, and when I woke up the next morning, he was gone. I didn't get to say goodbye."

He took a sharp breath, the expansion of his chest lifting her where she was settled against him. She had told him that her father had left but she hadn't been able to go into detail. She had never told anyone about the way he'd gone, how he had simply disappeared into the night to never come back. A man she had spent her whole life admiring, loving, being one hundred percent devoted to, and he'd walked out of her life and left her with a mother who had never truly wanted her.

"What was he like?" Oliver asked gently.

She shrugged, "When I was a little girl, he was – he was everything to me. I wanted to be with him all the time. He was a doctor and before I started school, he'd take me to his office with him a couple of days a week. I think now that even then I knew my mother did want me. But my dad…"

He pressed his lips to the back of her head and she sighed, leaning back fully into him, her head falling against his shoulder.

"We make quite the pair, don't we? With all of our emotional trauma? I- I'm sorry that I freaked out about, you know –"

He hugged her tighter to his chest, turning until their cheeks were pressed together, his stubble abrading her chin and throat. His warm lips skimmed her jaw.

"You don't have to apologize, Felicity. I understand. There are some things that are going to stay with you, things that are going to make fall apart when you least expect it. I should be apologizing. I should've realized that leaving you alone like that –"

She shook her head before squirming in his arms until she could press her face to the crook of his neck.

"Promise me something?" she murmured.

"Anything."

"If you need to get away, if you need to go for a run or you need to beat up the dummies at the lair, just tell me. Wake me up, leave me a note, something, because waking up without you … not knowing where you are, if scares the hell out of me."

He kissed her hair, "I will. I will, I promise."


	5. Day Five

**Day Five**

He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She'd been quiet all morning, something that he wasn't used to from her, and he wanted to ask her what was bothering her. He wondered if her mood was due to the fact that they would be heading home in the morning or if it had something to do with what had happened the day before. He'd frightened her, really frightened her, and while it hadn't been intentional, he still felt awful for it. They had crawled back into bed in the early morning light and she had curled herself into him and she hadn't let go. He'd woken up hours later to her lips on his, her weight distributed across his hips as she straddled him, and they'd hardly spent a moment outside of the bed all day. Not that he would complain about spending his day making love to her but it had been the lack of conversation between them that had let him know that something was wrong. They'd slept on and off, their limbs entwined, skin on skin, but when they weren't busy distracting one another, she had laid beside him with her head on his chest, staring at nothing in particular. He'd tried to start a conversation, asking her about where she wanted to look for a new apartment when they got home and if she wanted him to go with her. Her answers had all been short, nothing engaging, and he wondered if the frustration that he'd felt was similar to what she'd gone through when he hadn't been willing to open up to her.

Now as she sat beside him on the beach, the bright afternoon sun glinting off of her glossy hair, he felt a pang of anxiety in his chest. It was odd to see her that way, quiet and reflective. He was used to her vibrant chatter, to the random pop-culture references and the unintended sexual innuendos that often slipped past her lips. The woman with him now wasn't the woman that he was used to.

"Oliver?"

He turned to face her fully and took in her posture. She remained exactly where she'd been since they'd sat in the sand, her feet bare, her knees pulled to her chest. Her sunglasses were perched on the bridge her nose and her hair lay loose over her shoulders. She kept her face turned toward the water.

He reached for her hand, "Yeah?"

He watched her chest expand as she took a breath and then the words came quietly, the question almost a whisper.

"When we go home, would you… do you want to move in with me?"

The question hung in the air between them. If he was being honest, he'd considered it more than once in the time since they'd returned from Lian Yu. It made sense, looking for one place rather than two because he knew without a doubt that he'd end up spending most of his time with her even if he did end up with his own apartment. It had only been a few months since their relationship had changed, since their friendship had morphed into a desperate love that he couldn't control, but he felt no sense of fear at the prospect of taking this step with her. He wanted to be with her, he needed her at his side as much as humanly possible, and even though he knew that what he felt wasn't necessarily healthy, he couldn't fight it. He didn't know if they were ready, if they had come far enough in their relationship where co-habitation should really be on the table but he was certain that he wouldn't say no to what she was asking.

"Is that why you've been so quiet all of a sudden?" he asked, "Because you've been thinking about us living together? You were trying to decide if I'd agree or not."

She shrugged, "I didn't realize that I was being that quiet. I mean, I know I talk a lot but there are times when I don't have anything to say, Oliver. But yes, I guess that's why. I've been thinking about it for a while, wondering if it's too soon, if I'm crazy for even thinking that we're ready for this. But I realized that it doesn't matter if it's too soon. I want us to live together. I hate being away from you for any period of time. I love falling asleep with you and waking up with you and I just…"

He scooted closer to her, tugging her into his lap.

"Felicity."

"I just hate the idea of you being alone. Your nightmares are obviously still pretty bad and the idea of you going out running to burn off the images that they leave behind and then coming home to an empty house, an empty bed, it makes my heart hurt just thinking about it," she confessed, tucking herself closer to him.

He gripped her jean-clad thigh with one hand while the other snaked around her back and clasped her hip. His thumb rubbed small circles on the patch of skin just above her waistband.

"It would be nice to know that I have you waiting for me," he confirmed, "To know that you're lying in our bed, preferably wearing next to nothing, when I come home. When I was living in the mansion with Thea and my mom and I couldn't sleep, I'd go out and run laps around the grounds. Sometimes I'd get on my bike and ride into the city. After we met, I found myself driving by your apartment a lot more than what would've been considered normal."

She pulled away and looked up at him incredulously. He grinned.

"It couldn't be helped. You intrigued me. I don't know that I've ever told you, but you were the first person to make me smile. Really smile."

Her cheeks flushed but she remained quiet.

"The first day that I met you, I fed you that bogus story about the laptop and you looked at me with your head cocked to the side like I was the biggest idiot in the world for thinking that you bought it," he reminded her, "And you'd said the most inappropriate thing about my dad but rather than finding it offensive, it was a relief to find someone who wasn't treating me like I was going to explode at any moment. Up to that point, everyone had been so careful to avoid talking about what had happened to him – to me – and it was starting to wear on me. I was tired of everyone tiptoeing around it. But you, you just threw decorum out the window and made a comment about my dead father."

She groaned and hid her face in the crook of his neck. He laughed.

"It's not funny!" she grumbled, "I still can't believe that I said that!"

He shook his head, "It really was kind of refreshing. You just had this honesty that you couldn't control and I hadn't smiled like that in a long time."

She lifted her head and blew the loose strands of hair from her face. Her eyes remained hidden behind her sunglasses.

"I was shocked when you walked through my door," she admitted, "And not just because you'd just come back from the dead but because you were absolutely gorgeous. Hot guys don't generally wander into the IT department looking for me so it was a little… unsettling."

He smirked, "Did you just call me hot and gorgeous in the same sentence?"

She swatted at his chest, "Seriously? Your ego isn't big enough already?"

He moved before she realized what was happening, rolling them so that she was trapped on her back, his weight balanced above her. He was careful not to crush her. He captured her lips in a quick kiss, glad to see the color in her cheeks and hear the smile in her voice again.

"We should look for a house," he suggested, "Preferably with a big yard."

She blinked up at him owlishly, her blue eyes confused behind her glasses at the sudden change of topic.

"A house?" she asked a little breathlessly.

He nodded, "Because if we're moving in together, I have one request."

Her confusion only seemed to grow and he was curious as to where her train of thought was headed. He was certain that she'd had the same brief thought that he'd had.

"What's that?"

He played with her hair, his eyes locked on the strands as they twisted around his fingers. He had one answer on the tip of his tongue, one that he knew neither of them was ready for, and he kept it to himself. He knew that someday they would get to a place where their lives would settle down, where they could settle down together, but that day was not today. There were still so many things that they would go through, so many experiences that they had yet to share. They had time.

"Oliver?"

He gazed at her, taking in her glossed lips and sun-kissed cheeks. He found her mouth with his, kissing her gently before breathing his answer against her lips.

"A dog. We should get a dog."

She laughed, rolling her eyes at him.

"You're not going to let the dog thing go, are you? What if I told you I was allergic?"

He shrugged, "You're not. You're allergic to nuts but nothing else. We've had this conversation, remember?"

"Fine," she conceded, "But we have to wait at least six weeks. We move in, get unpacked, settle, and then we can talk about a dog. Deal?"

"Deal."

Her arms slipped around his waist and she tugged until he was lying on top of her, his weight pressing her into the sand. He rested his forehead against hers.

"I don't want to go home tomorrow," she told him, "It's just so… calm here."

He sighed, "I know."

"But I do sort of miss John… and maybe Roy, too."

He laughed, "Roy? You miss that kid? Is there something you want to tell me?"

She shrugged, grinning, but she didn't answer him. He reached for her sides, digging his fingers in until a peal of laughter erupted from her and she began squirming to get away. He laughed with her, keeping her trapped, and then kissing her until the need for air forced him to break away.

"I can honestly say, this has been the best vacation I think I've ever had," he told her honestly, the happiness inside of him unlike anything he'd felt before.

"I couldn't agree more. Thank you, Oliver, for this. I love you."

His mouth fell to hers, softly, gently, and when he lifted his head again, he knew that she understood what he hadn't said. He didn't need to say it. She already knew.

**Fin**

**A/N: Thanks again for sticking with both this fic and Not Another Mistake. I've had a lot of fun letting our happy couple be happy **** Who knows, if I feel inspired, there could be a few random one-shots that appear in this universe!**


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